Team No Luck
by Whispers in Alcatraz
Summary: Not every team is a time bomb in the making. In a land where the shinobi live among the clouds, three children are chosen to be one of the newest genin cells. Unfortunately for them, their sensei happens to be an insane cutthroat with a talent for murder. Will they survive the hell he calls training, or will they die like all his previous students? Genfic. Ratings may go up.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, and welcome to my first ever fanfiction! Whispers here, and I'll tell you what this story is supposed to be about.

As a veteran reader, one grows _tired _of reading about the adventures of the same set of characters over and over again. In an attempt to refresh a stale fandom, I decided to throw my own two cents in and create my own OCs! Rest assured, these characters will not be interacting with our main cast, with exceptions for a few (however **romance is unlikely**). This is an attempt at a grittier view of the Naruto universe, with unique, new characters interacting in a setting we don't really know much about.

Any suggestions, critiques, etc will be welcomed heartily.

* * *

"…and Team 13 will be composed of Kazama Kotori, Renmaru Yukio, and Ishiyama Takeshi. Your jounin sensei is unnamed."

All three children perked up at the sound of their names and only Kotori noticed how the chuunin did not name their sensei to-be. Squirreling away the information into her brain for later study, the auburn-haired girl sneaked a glance at her teammates.

Yukio sat two seats in front of her, and the first thing that anyone noticed about him was his hair. By the virtue of genetics, he was the sort of person you could pick out from a crowd and remember with his hair being a wavy, unruly mass of white; an off-tone so pure that it was several shades lighter than anyone could achieve artificially. His mother was a single, retired kunoichi whom ran a teashop for shinobi, and she had the same hair color.

Kotori didn't know all this because they talked. Rather, she _listened. _She could easily, when prompted, say which of her classmates liked dango and who liked sashimi, which liked who, and then spout out the names of all their parents and their addresses without even stopping to think.

Knowing everything meant you could prepare for everything, and Kotori always liked being _prepared._

Her other teammate sat three seats away from Yukio. He contrasted in literally every way to his fellow male, with a dark complexion typical of those from Kumogakure and dark hair that tinted blue in the right light. His eyes were a dark violet color, signifying that he was from the Ishiyama clan, whom possessed the ability to harden their skin into a near diamond like state.

Takeshi excelled in taijutsu, and his ninjutsu was also pretty good. He was slower than both herself and Yukio, but made up with a killer stamina that made him capable of going on for hours if need be.

Amber eyes preoccupied with flicking over the back of her teammates' heads, Kotori almost missed the small shift in her peripheral vision. It was only the slightest flicker but she still twitched her head to the side.

It was a good idea.

A kunai shot passed her head with only a whisper of wind and imbedded itself in the far left wall with a quiet _thunk._ Kotori stared at it in quiet shock. Had she not dodged...

She shook herself. This was not the time for such thoughts. Noticing the note attached the ringed handle of the weapon, she moved towards it.

Behind her, she heard Takeshi mutter, "Where the hell did _that _come from?"

"It's a note," she said. "Apparently from Oyasumi-sensei."

Takeshi clearly wasn't expecting his question to be answered, but he recovered admirably. "Well, what does it say?" he demanded.

"'Room 307 in five minutes'," the girl said easily. I suppose we should head over there now."

Takeshi gave a curt nod and was making to move away when Kotori halted him. "Hey, since we're a team now, why don't we make our meeting official?" Without waiting for an answer, she stuck out her hand abruptly at Yukio. "My name's Kazama Kotori."

The boy gazed at her hand silently before gingerly gripping it with his much paler one. "Renmaru Yukio."

He released her immediately and with any other person, Kotori might've felt offended. However, in this case, she would make exceptions. Yukio was an introverted boy with few friends, due to his classmates bullying him for various reasons like his reliance on genjutsu, low strength, and odd appearance. He would need time to immerge from his shell.

Kotori whipped around to Takeshi and offered him her hand. "Well?"

He sighed, like shaking hands with his teammates was a bothersome thing. His dark hand was hot and calloused, leading up to a muscled wrist and developed biceps. "Ishiyama Takeshi from clan Ishiyama."

He quickly turned away and Kotori realized what he was doing. _He's dismissing Yukio and Yukio's letting him, because Takeshi used to bully him once._

This would not do. Kotori never tolerated fools.

Adopting a clueless tone, she piped up. "Hey, hey, Takeshi, aren't you going to introduce yourself to Yukio?"

The boy seemed to bristle at her casual use of his name and turned on his heel. "Look, I only shook with you because it'd be rude not to. _Don't _expect me to offer my hand to that fucking weakling Yu-"

He stopped.

Kotori pinned him with her gaze, and tilted her head slowly. Her voice was much darker as she repeated herself. "Takeshi, _aren't you going shake hands with Yukio._"

The clan boy paused. Inwardly, he debated with himself. He could easily floor the Kazama girl, but on the other hand, her hand was itching to make some seals. Though he out-classed her physically, she could beat him down with a genjutsu before he could even raise a fist.

Grumbling, Takeshi stuck his hand out at Yukio. The white-haired boy stared at it meekly before his hand darted out to grip it. Within Takeshi's grasp, his hand seemed to disappear. "Y-Yukio," he stammered out before bunching up his shoulder as if preparing for a strike.

Takeshi grunted out his name and whipped around, shoulders lined with tension. Kotori allowed him to lead the way into the hall and up the stairs. All three children all walked silently to Room 307.

The door to the room was a plain-looking one, with a cheap metal handle screwed on. Takeshi opened the door and the world went dark.

Beside her Yukio stiffened and she heard him whisper "Kai" over and over. She mimicked him and flared her chakra to combat the illusion but their attempts were in vain, however, and the world around them remained dark. A little ways in front of them were a pair of intense yellow eyes.

"So you are Team 13."

The voice was loud but soft, reverberating throughout the darkness like they were in a cave. It surrounded them, seemingly suffocating. Kotori wheezed.

"I'm disappointed with what I've seen so far. As far as I am concerned, you are little more than worms, useful for only grunt work."

In front of her, Takeshi bristled under the weight of the man's illusion and words. "Who the hell do you think you are, you arrogant asshole!" he yelled hoarsely. "How about instead of hiding behind some stupid genjutsu, you come out and say it to our faces?!"

The weight of the illusion deepened and Yukio stumbled. Kotori's knees shook and she gasped for breathe. It felt as if she was being squeezed by a massive fist, its grip tightening along her lungs. Takeshi was even worse off.

He was already on the floor, limbs twitching and jerking to and fro. She made a last ditch attempt to dispel the illusion and failed.

Was this how she died…? Barely a shinobi, inside the Kumogakure Academy by this stranger…?

Just as quickly as the technique had fallen on them, it lifted.

Kotori fell to the floor and heaved in air. Yukio choked on air and Takeshi remained prone. The girl forced her head up to identify the man before them.

Their teacher was a handsome man, albeit unusual looking (which wasn't that unusual for shinobi). He had messy dark hair, more unruly than even Yukio's. It framed his face with small bangs falling at the sides. His eyes were the same yellow from before, the pupil surrounded by a dark ring of black. They were slanted and intense, the gaze strengthened by what appeared to be kohl.

"My, what a poor lot," he started in a mocking, cold tone. "You couldn't even dispel a simple genjutsu."

"We t-tried," gasped Kotori. "Several times, in fact. It didn't w-work."

"Idiot girl," snapped the man. "Do you really _think _that the enemy would allow you to dispel their technique so easily? I just layered it thicker on what you already got rid of and then added a small genjutsu to induce despair and coerce you into giving up."

Kotori didn't understand half the things he said, surprised by his broad application of genjutsu with such minimal effort. _I hope Yukio's listening,_ she thought. _Since he specializes in genjutsu, this should help him a lot._

Kotori stood up slowly with Yukio. The boy's face was pale but he stood easily. She nudged him and gestured at Takeshi. Both moved in tandem towards the boy, each one grabbing an arm. Takeshi rose slowly on shaky knees and leaned heavily on his teammates. _He's quite heavy for a thirteen year old boy, _mused Kotori.

Hisao stared at them silently as they propped up Takeshi. "Why are you helping him?" he asked. "He is weak. Look how easily he fell."

Kotori moved to reply, but Yukio beat her to it, much to her surprise.

"Takeshi-san isn't weak. He was the strongest of our class and the only reason he was effected so heavily was because you placed a stronger genjutsu on him," Yukio's voice was quiet, but firm and Kotori eyed him silently. _Strange, one wouldn't think a person would be so quick to defend a long-time bully like Takeshi here._

Hisao cocked his head to the side, and then glided to their flank. His steps were utterly noiseless and Kotori suddenly felt like a slovenly mess next to this trained, elite killer. How on earth could she ever become someone like that?

"Do you wish to be trained by me?"

The question was unexpectedly abrupt and Kotori found herself speechless. Kumogakure shinobi were known to be blunt, but really…!

Hisao chuckled. "Staring at me doesn't answer my question, does it?" He moved to their front, closer than before. "Are you willing to pay in blood, sweat, and tears for my training? Will you stand up even on broken bones and speak through torn throats when I command you?"

"Yes."

"Y-yes."

"…yes."

Takeshi spoke last and Kotori started when he did so. His voice was croaky but strong enough. He shrugged away Yukio and Kotori with muttered, reluctant thanks. Turning his purple eyes towards the man in the center of the room, he scowled fiercely as he could, though the effect of it was dulled by his youth and weakened state. "My name is Ishiyama Takeshi, from clan Ishiyama of the Kongou no Nikuzuki. And I… I know you, _Oyasumi Hisao_."

If the man was impressed by the name-drop, he certainly did nothing to show it, simply content with allowing Takeshi to continue.

"They call you Shiretsuna, the most ruthless shinobi in Kumo. You killed a battalion's worth of enemy shinobi by yourself and my father said that you could even become an S-rank shinobi. You lost three-"

"That's enough," cut in Hisao sharply. "Shinobi are worse gossips than housewives, and you are a fool to believe everything that is said." He gestured widely, " Rely on information, but never believe everything."

He then smiled suddenly, flashing sharp incisors and reached inside his jounin vest to toss a small scroll at them. Kotori caught it deftly and with Yukio's help, unfurled it. It was fairly short, and written in a neat, tight script.

Hisao smiled humorlessly. "Read the scroll and be prepared for tomorrow. You will need everything you can get because I will not be kind."

And then he disappeared, leaving behind a light haze and electrically charged air.

_Or, rather, he used shunshin to leave quickly, _Kotori amended. _Shinobi always have to be unconventional about everything._

Beside her, Takeshi and Yukio had their heads bent together as they peered at the scroll. Kotori realized that the contents were probably not very good considering Yukio's rising eyebrows and Takeshi's squawks of indignation.

"What?! There's a second test for us!"

Kotori elbowed her way past Takeshi and examined the scroll, amber eyes skimming over its contents thoughtfully.

_Team 13_

_While you may have proved you are capable of being shinobi, you have yet to show your worth. A second test will be administered by your jounin sensei at his/her specified time for as long as they deem necessary. Fail and you will be sent back to the academy for secondary evaluation._

_Mission Objective: A retrieval of a scroll from your enemy, Kumogakure jounin Oyasumi Hisao from point A to point B on the map given_

_Opponent(s): Oyasumi Hisao a.k.a. Akuma no Shiretsuna, A-rank jounin ninja_

_Rank: Unknown_

_Time Duration: Tomorrow from 1200 to 0000_

_Use any resources necessary to defeat your opponent and complete the mission. The village rests on your shoulders._

"I suppose it makes sense," Yukio said.

Takeshi immediately whipped around to glare at him, "What the hell?"

Yukio was only slightly fazed by Takeshi's abundant annoyance. He squared his thin shoulders after a pause and took a deep breath to recite, "Shinobi are the first and last line of defense for a hidden village. We are its sword and shield, and as with every tool, it must be tested for worth. A tool that shatters on impact has no business existing."

Kotori and Takeshi stood together in stunned silence. Finally, the dark-haired boy uttered, "Did you _really _memorize the Shinobi Guide?"

Yukio flushed, a pleasant pink crawling its way up his pale neck. Ducking his head, he ruffled his white hair abashedly. Takeshi rolled his eyes. "Feh, _typical_."

_That was way too adorable, _Kotori thought as she stared at the pink encroaching on Yukio's ears. _This guy, honestly…_

Still, they needed to be a bit more serious about the challenge ahead of them. Kotori hardened her gaze and her voice dropped. "Well, less playing around now. We need to use strategy of we're planning on not bombing this thing."

Both Yukio and Takeshi nodded, moving to flank her as the sole girl rolled the thick paper of the scroll in her hands, deep in thought. Her teammates had wildly different abilities, compared to her more generalized nature. With a good plan, that could be advantageous.

"First of all," she began, "Yukio and I are going to need to know just what _you _know about Hisao-sensei. Then we need to know what your kekkei genkai does."

Takeshi shrugged and his voice adopted a strange, wary lilt. "I can tell you everything with the first one, but I'm not so sure about the second."

Yukio piped up from her other side. "You don't really need to tell any clan secrets or anything, just things like what you can do with it and stuff."

Takeshi shot Yukio an expression that spoke of the level of contempt and dislike he harbored for the white-haired boy. The tense moment passed quickly when Yukio diverted his green-eyed gaze over to a stray lock of hair resting on Kotori's cheek and Takeshi scoffed.

Turning to Kotori, he still looked doubtful, but his face lost its previous caginess. "Well, it's pretty literal with its name and all," he said cautiously. "It's said that our most skilled users of the Kongou no Nikuzuki can harden their skin to a point where even diamonds break against it."

Ears pricking at the information, Kotori unconsciously leaned forward with a rapt expression. She made no sound, slowing her breathing as if she were nervous that anything loud might startle Takeshi back into refusal.

"It's actually pretty low on chakra cost, though it depends on how fine your chakra control is and how hard you made your skin. Our clan head, Ishiyama Tetsuo, can keep it up for days when he needs to," at this point, Takeshi puffed up with pride. "I can make mine hard enough to blunt shinobi grade steel."

Yukio made the appropriate sound of awe at his boast, though Kotori noticed his omission. "Just how long can you keep that up, though?" she inquired, all her previous nervousness gone.

At this, Takeshi faltered. "A-About ten minutes when I'm standing still." Then he colored deeply, "But I'm still the best user yet for my age!"

Ignoring the reproachful look Yukio shot her way, Kotori hummed. "And when you're fighting someone?"

"… Two minutes before I lose control."

Takeshi sounded somewhat wretched. Kotori, however, ignored it with practiced ease. _He can dish it out, but can't take it._

"What if you have chakra pills and frequent breaks?' she asked after a pause. "Would it lengthen the time?"

Takeshi recovered from his sulking and instead looked thoughtful. "I never really tried that, actually. Maybe, I guess. Anyway, you know my taijutsu is the best in our class and my ninjutsu's okay."

Takeshi didn't even bother mentioning genjutsu, considering he was near legendary for how miserable he was at it.

Kotori nodded slowly and then turned to Yukio. He gazed at her back calmly. "I can do most D-rank genjutsu, and a few C-ranks. I can't promise more than five consecutively, but I can layer a low-level genjutsu. I was the second fastest in the class and Shin-san only beat me because his clan has the Kaminari Sanpo. My endurance isn't much, however."

Kotori murmured her understanding and stood very, very still as she thought. Her eyes continuously moved over her teammates and the map, working out routes for them to utilize, routes that allowed them to play on their individual strengths…

She paused on her pondering and peered at the map closely.

"Takeshi, could you come here?"

The boy shifted closer obligingly, though he was still careful to maintain a certain distance between them. He grunted in askance.

"I heard that your compound got some recent renovations the past few months, with your clan buying more land to expand, right? At least five acres worth?" Kotori inquired.

"Ten acres," he corrected. "We added clan bathhouses and wells. Why?"

Kotori didn't reply, instead turning to Yukio. Behind her, Takeshi protested angrily at being so quickly dismissed. "H-hey, you-!"

"And your mom's teashop opened a year ago near the outskirts of the ninja districts where it meets the west side of the merchant district, right?"

Yukio looked startled, but still stammered out an affirmative, mint eyes flicking over to where Takeshi glared at the back of Kotori's head.

Kotori nodded sharply. "As I thought. I memorized Kumo's layout, and _this _map," she declared, "Is out-dated by at least two years."

"Of course we have old information," scowled Takeshi. "They're testing to see if we're actually stupid enough to trust everything we're given. Still, that doesn't matter when we don't have a _plan_."

Kotori nodded. "You're right, of course. I think I may have a plan, but I need you two to revise it and help…"

* * *

_At the same time…_

While his three to-be students quietly plotted out their movements for tomorrow, Oyasumi Hisao stood inside the Raikage's office with the grim air of someone standing at their own funeral.

The leader of Kumo swept dark eyes over his form, an unreadable expression twisting his brown face. "Oyasumi," he rumbled. "Another year, another team."

The unspoken question lingered in the air between them. _Another year, another team. What will you do with them?_

Hisao shifted on his sandaled feet – the only sign of discomfort he would allow. Golden eyes bore into dark ones as he replied. "I will train them well, Raikage-sama. I won't… I won't lose another team."

The Raikage closed his eyes and pursed his lips. He hated bringing this up with Oyasumi, as he well knew of the pain that the man suffered for the last five years when he had first turned in his request for a genin team. Five years… and three genin teams lost.

Out of the nine children placed under his care, only one still survives to this day. At first, Hisao was placed under intense suspicion for such great losses but was found innocent when it turned out all of them were lost in circumstances not under his control.

The first fell to a miss-ranked mission. The D-rank Hisao's team had taken was outside the village, and the man had only thought to show them of places outside their home base. In the scant space of two hours, however, their milk-run instead fell apart into a high-risk A-rank.

In the end, Oyasumi crawled back to Kumo with three genin and five missing-nin sealed in a scroll marked with black wax – corpse storage. No one mentioned the tear tracks that covered his face.

A year after that, Hisao recovered enough to take on another team. They did decently and Hisao entered them in their first Chuunin Exam after six months together. Three day later, he received the news. His team had fallen to a particularly vicious Suna team with a leaning towards poisons. Out of three genin, only one survived and she had suffered heavy emotional trauma from having to drag her two dead teammates five kilometers to the official checkpoint.

No one knew if he was capable of taking on yet another team after that, but as all the losses weren't his fault, the administration allowed it. That year, another team was lost.

Hisao was officially black-listed from the available jounin for sensei-duty. He was placed under mental scrutiny from the T&I department for six months and his reputation was systematically dismantled.

Already people were questioning the decision to allow Oyasumi to become a sensei once again. Genin are not expendable, they argued, we have lost promising talent to him thrice over and this time, his team carries a talented clan child, the son of a prominent, retired kunoichi, and the daughter of a member of the Merchant's Guild. If the children were to die, the fall-out _will _be immense.

The Raikage knew this. Oyasumi knew this. Giving him such a gifted team could be a massive mistake.

Yet a kage must trust his soldiers. He must trust them to perform miracles at the drop of a hat, to live and die for their villages as commanded. Oyasumi Hisao was a powerful jounin, one that could even be S-rank if he worked hard enough. If he passed on even a fraction of his knowledge, then Kumo would be all the better for it.

The pressure on the golden-eyed man was great, far greater than it had ever been. This team could be his saving grace, or his damnation.

"You know what this team means, Oyasumi. You know there are risks to being a sensei, better than half the jounin in this village. These genin are children, unlearned and untried. Failure is not acceptable. Failure is not an option. Fail, and I will personally make sure you can never even stand next to a genin ever again." As he spoke, the killing intent in the room rose higher and higher, pushing Oyasumi down.

Hisao nodded sharply. He stood straight, unbending against the weight pressing on his shoulders. The chance the Raikage was allowing him was a kindness, one most would say he did not deserve. To fail was to spit upon such kindness and the village itself.

"Train those children. Break them and build them up higher than they were before. Make them proud soldiers of this village and _do not let them __**die.**_"

The last word was punctuated with a sharp rise of chakra, the blunt force of it knocking Hisao off his feet. He tumbled into the walls of the office and wheezed for breath against the charged air. "U-understood, Raikage-sama."

Immediately, the pressure in the air dropped. During all this, the Raikage never moved once, holding his gaze heavily with all the steadiness of the mountains that surrounded their village. "Dismissed, jounin."

Hisao snapped his spine straight and barked out an affirmative before stumbling out the office on shaky legs. Once out, he leaned his forehead against the cool stone of the building and breathed in the comforting scent of mountain air. Below the shrieks of children echoed throughout the village.

The faces of the three children he'd been given flashed through his mind. A girl with auburn hair and a fear born of knowledge in clear, focused eyes. A boy with skin dark as the Raikage's and a desperate, needy desire to be recognized. A boy with white hair like the Man-Killer Kunoichi Shinju but none of the fire.

_Failure is not an option._

Hisao grimaced.

_It never _was.

* * *

**Cont.**

For those curious, Kongou no Nikuzuki is my extremely bastardized way of saying 'Body of Diamond' in Japanese while 'Shiretsuna' emans cutthroat. Probably wrong but what can you do?


	2. Chapter 2

Well, several things must be noted.

1. fucked up my formatting last chapter, but it should be fine this time around

2. will be doing small, short recaps of the previous chapters

3. The story will be picking up speed after I establish characters relationships, the setting, and how things are going to play out from here on out.

I don't have a beta reader, so if you think you're up to the task, PM me! Reviews, critiques, etc are always appreciated.

* * *

_The story so far..._

Team 13 is made and they meet their jounin sensei, the mysterious golden-eyed shinobi Oyasumi Hisao! Then, in an unexpected turn of events, Team 13 learns of the secret mission test they would recieve while Hisao himself speaks with his superior, the Raikage himself.

Will Team 13 prevail?

* * *

_That night…_

While Hisao quietly brooded, his three would-be students all retired to their separate homes after an exhausting, fruitful evening spent planning their action for the next day.

The three children all left the Academy at the same time, though Kotori found that she lived the opposite way from her two teammates, who both lived in the ninja districts. With a somewhat regretful wave, the girl bounded off on her own to her parent's apartment in the civilian districts, leaving behind an awkward silence between Takeshi and Yukio.

The two boys had managed a skewed sort of camaraderie born from shared motives, but without Kotori's quiet assertiveness to smooth the rough edges, the pair only silently shuffled home.

Takeshi sneaked a glance at Yukio, who appeared not to notice. The other boy's white hair glowed under the soft village lights, but his lean form seemed to sink into the shadows. His face was still, a flat, dull expression that seemed to be void of all emotion. Takeshi knew this face – as did everyone else in their class – and he pursed his lips.

Yukio had these moods, sometimes, where he would shut himself off from the world entirely. He'd retreat into his shell and ignore everyone around him with a look that could crack stone.

_No matter who your teammate may be, you _must _succeed, _urged the strong voice of his father. Ishiyama Gen was their clan's stronger fighters, and he expected the same excellence from his only son. Sometimes, in the darkest corners of his mind, when he lay alone in his room on the side of his body that hurt the least after his father pushed him into a brutal training session… Takeshi resented the immense pressure placed upon him.

The boy shook himself. He didn't like such gloomy thoughts and instead sneaked another glance at Yukio, who still walked along obliviously.

Most jounin knew who Renmaru Shinju was. She was near infamous for her fighting ability and fiery, blunt mannerisms – but the thing that won her the most attention was her choice to retire as soon as she learned she was pregnant and open a tea-house.

Shinobi typically don't retire. Either the lifestyle drew them in too much for them to ever leave it – or they died before they ever thought of retiring. Shinju was the anomaly, because not only did she leave the ninja force successfully, but she also raised a child _without accidentally_ damaging him.

Takeshi knew this all, because his cousins were all terrible, _awful_ gossips. Beyond that, Shinju was considered to be a prime catch in the shinobi community and his cousins had tripped into the time where they realize that, yes, single kunoichi mothers that could gouge your eyes out with a chopstick were _hot._

Takeshi shuddered.

Still, Renmaru Shinju remained a prominent figure in the shinobi ranks, with most young kunoichi measuring themselves up against her to test their worth. She was dangerous, she was positively lethal in all the ways that mattered… yet her son was nothing like her.

When Takeshi had first heard that Renmaru Shinju's son would be in the same class as himself, he could barely contain the excitement. Takeshi – despite what anyone might say, himself included – was still a boy and he wanted friends _desperately._

Of course, clan kids always get their pick of friends in the Academy, but such thoughts do not normally occur to anxious little boys at their first day of school.

Then he met Yukio.

The disappointment was crushing, to say the least. Yukio was everything his mother wasn't. He was soft-spoken, quiet, and fared badly in hand-to-hand combat. He tripped over his own feet during class runs and flushed down to his neck whenever called up to speak.

Rather than a friend, Takeshi found himself a target for all the small insecurities, upsets, and resentment he bottled up inside. Six months into the school year, Takeshi found himself shoving Yukio face-first into the dusty, rocky field behind the Academy.

The results were a sobbing boy nursing a broken nose and an enraged kunoichi mother.

And what friendship can be salvaged from a relationship like that?

The two walked on in silence until they finally reached an intersection where they both branched off from each other, maintaining a perfect, chilly silence all the way.

* * *

_The next day…_

Hisao waited at the point next to the scroll, idly playing with the edges of his shirt. The scroll itself was a simple affair, with no border and a yellow ribbon with a blue wax seal keeping it furled.

It was an hour past dawn when he saw the initial rustles of what might be his team. The leaves shifted unnaturally, the rasp of it loud against the silent morning air. He smirked lightly.

Team 13 was good for genin fresh out of the Academy, but definitely not good enough to fool the average chuunin, let alone a fully-fledged jounin.

The attack came as expected, with the clan brat and girl leading in a prong formation while Shinju's boy providing genjutsu as support at the back. The girl and the clan brat came charging in tandem, with the girl's hands weaving into seals even as she ran.

The genjutsu itself was fairly weak, easy to shrug off but also easy to maintain. Hisao shook off the illusion with ease and shifted his center of balance to engage his two other students. While he could take all three kids out within the first ten seconds of their attack, that wasn't the purpose of this test.

The clan brat attacked first, launching a strong left hook at the Hisao's face. In turn, the older man raised his forearms to block.

_He has a strong arm, _he noted. Granted, sure, for a member of the Ishiyama but still a point in his favor. The two traded blow for some while when Takeshi suddenly twisted in a strange way that had his sensei stumbling in a leg-lock. Of course, Yukio immediately seized the opportunity to place a dizziness genjutsu on Hisao.

Hisao himself strained against a dark-clothed leg, arms twitching to

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

The blast of wind careened over where Hisao had been standing, ripping a hole into the hard terrain. It was pretty powerful for a girl he _knew _was just an academy graduate. Just what sort of team had he been given?

Another wind jutsu, though weaker, shot at him to be followed by more. With Takeshi diving in occasionally to land a lucky hit, Hisao realized his would-be students were giving him a semi-decent workout from all the dodging and blocking.

Meanwhile, Kotori quietly sneaked in from the far right to the scroll. Yukio had actually given her the idea with his ability of layering genjutsu on top of each other. This meant that whenever he cast an obvious one made for unbalancing his opponents, he was also adding a wafer-thin layer to a pre-existing genjutsu Yukio liked to call Bimyogen: Wasurenagasu.

It was barely there, so unnoticeable it hardly affected the victim. All it did was 'push' a person's attention to something more dynamic, urging to ignore their surroundings in exchange for paying attention to one thing. In this case, Takeshi and his seal carrying bunshin.

There were a few traps set up around the area, but she disabled them with minimal difficulty. Now the scroll lay in front of her, innocuously perched on a high rock. She was sure there was some terrible trap on it, but couldn't find anything tells to its location.

Gritting her teeth, Kotori snatched up the scroll swiftly, praying that she could somehow avoid the trap and start running.

Sadly, a swatch of barbed ninja wire streaming straight at her face proved her wrong. Raising her arms in defense, the girl muffled a scream as the twisted metal cut into her flesh. Blood welled up, but thankfully nothing major. Moving only the barest amount, Kotori threw the scroll away at the point where Yukio should have been standing.

Beside her, Hisao appeared. He wasn't even panting, the only sign of any exertion being his rumpled clothing. He snipped the wire off with a kunai and slammed his female student into the ground. A rabbit-punch at the back of her head had her out for the count.

He left the girl where she fell, distracted by what sounded to be two boys arguing.

"Look, she gave _me _the scroll so I get to take it to the point!"

"Hell no, loser! The only thing you're good for are those tacky illusions, you'll lose it before you go even ten meters!"

The voices got louder and angrier as Hisao stealthily slithered his way to a roof-top further away from the training ground. Sneering, he realized that the boys moved the west of the point, clearly forgetting the purpose of the test in their bid for glory.

…Or not.

Hisao found a smile tugging at his lips when he realized that one the children had planned on drawing him away while they ran for the point. The recording was perched on a wooden stool with a microphone beside it to allow extra quality.

The fake argument from the two boys continued.

"… well, you're a weak idiot!"

"At least I'm not some muscle-bound thug like you, you arrogant clan boy!"

Further away, Takeshi and Yukio ran together at a steady pace. They made good time, nearly two-thirds of the way to the point. The first part of their run had been a mad dash for safety, half-convinced that their sensei wouldn't be fooled and would set their asses on fire at any moment.

Thankfully, it wasn't so.

They slowed to a more comfortable gait, with Yukio setting the actual speed. He was the fastest of the pair, and would need his strength for any last minute sprints. Both boys ignored each other, minds mulling over this part of the plan Kotori had out-lined in painful detail to them the night before.

Sensei had probably discovered the ruse with the recording and was tracking them down.

"_Think about what we found about sensei. He's sensible, blunt, and willing to do anything for his goals. If he intercepts you, it probably won't be some big, flashy jutsu to introduce himself. His very character is against it."_

"_Then what _will _he do?_

"_Maybe a genjutsu or some weapons. He might even just confront you up-front."_

"_What if he doesn't do any of that? What then?"_

"_Look, the plan is simple, with different routes for different variables. The way sensei intercepts you is one of those variables. Whatever he does, there _will _be a step for it."_

It seemed that Hisao would confront them directly. A cloud of smoke heralded his intrusion, and he appeared like a dark blot on the horizon. Takeshi and Yukio tensed, ready to run away at a moment's notice.

"Cute trick with the recorder," Hisao called. "Gave you a few seconds to get further away, it did. Though, you if were more talented, you might've gotten to the point before I'd even sniffed out your trick."

Takeshi barely resisted the urge to yell at Hisao in his own defense, choosing valiantly to remain silent. Yukio followed suit.

Instead, the two used the time to discreetly take in their surroundings. Could they be in range for a suicide run from Yukio…?

The small smattering of stalls across the courtyard they were in confirmed it. Kumo's merchant district was now approximately three kilometers away and their way-point lay just beyond it. If Takeshi gave time for Yukio to run, then they white-haired boy might possibly have enough time to reach their destination. He nudged him sneakily as possible, eyes trained on the static form of their sensei two hundred meters away.

He received an imperceptible nod in return. _Understood._

Hisao took a single step forward and their plan burst into motion. Tossing the scroll to Yukio's waiting hands, Takeshi surged forward. He threw shuriken and kunai indiscriminately, trying to box in Hisao and limit his capability to chase Yukio.

Already, the other boy ran like a jackrabbit, thin legs pumping desperately. His hair plastered against his sweaty forehead, he prayed that Kotori was in position should the next step of their plan be needed.

Behind him, he heard strangled scream. It was unlike anything he heard before, a thin keening sound made of bestial pain. It continued on for a long time before petering out, but it still echoed in Yukio's ears as he sprinted.

_What did sensei do?!_

His mind raced back and forth. Had sensei injured Takeshi somehow? Had he… had he _killed _him?

_No, no way that's going to happen, No, no way that's going to happen, _Yukio thought firmly, pushing away the image of a broken boy lying face-down as a dark-haired man stood over his body. _Sensei's a shinobi of Kumo and they wouldn't let him get away with the __murder__ of a genin, especially a clan one._

Using that to assure himself, Yukio continued his sprint. His legs were burning, and throat felt raw from his harsh panting. Yukio wanted to vomit and collapse.

But he couldn't stop. Not yet. Not when Takeshi had to scream like that to give him the window of escape.

Yukio pressed on.

Hisao stopped Yukio a kilometer away from his destination. The boy's knees shook from exertion as he panted severely, chest heaving at the effort. Sweat poured down like a curtain, matting his hair to thin oily strands. Even his hands shook from where they rested at his half-bent knees.

"You've come quite far, for a rookie genin team. Though you did have to sacrifice both members of your team to their fates _and _didn't actually complete your objective."

Yukio stared at the dusty ground of the streets, sweat beading down the bridge of his slender nose. He swallowed once, twice before speaking. "Perhaps," he started, "You are right. We didn't complete our objective. My team has been eliminated. Something like this in the field may prove to be disastrous for all of Kumo. But… the thing is, sensei, even the most paranoid people can underestimate those they believe weaker!"

He yelled the last word and charged Hisao, arms raised for a last suicide attack.

Almost immediately Hisao knocked him down, jabbing his temple with a sharp elbow. The white-haired boy stumbled and fell unconscious with a soft grunt. Hisao chuckled. "Not bad, for a dumb genin. Nice touch with that spee-"

Hisao stopped suddenly, hand gripping a scroll with no border, a yellow ribbon, and a blue seal that was in reality, a puffy sticker.

He stared at it numbly, still holding Yukio's prone form and then slowly started to laugh. "What damn awful brats!"

Several hundred meters away, Kotori finally finished circling the village the long way around with a scroll with no border tied with a yellow ribbon and blue seal tucked under her arm and a smile growing in her chest. Which may or may not actually be hallucinogens because sensei was a dirty bastard.

Still, the scroll reached the way-point. Kotori stared at it numbly, swaying unsteadily on her feet while strange, colored lights blinked all around her. She giggled. "I think... I think we passed."

And with that, the auburn-haired girl collapsed into the dirt just as her Hisao arrived with a shunshin.

* * *

_Several hours later - Kumogakure General Hospital..._

Team 13 gathered in Yukio's mother's teashop to receive the impending news of their test. Hisao steadily ignored his students' demanding glares, putting away jasmine tea and pork rolls like he hadn't eaten in a long time.

The three children all woke up in the Kumogakure General Hospital in the same room, with their teacher sitting in the corner gazing contemplatively out the window. He'd stayed silent until all of them rose and regained some sort of equilibrium. Only then did he speak. "I hope you get used to this sort of awakening."

"Hm?" inquired Kotori groggily from her bed to the east side of the room. She felt like a wrung out towel and her body ached like she'd gotten into a fight with the ground and lost.

"In Kumo, genin cells typically share a hospital room. If you choose to train under me, then this room will become intimately familiar to you in due time."

The unspoken question lingered in the air. _Do you still want to be trained by me, after your taste of what it will be like?_

Hisao's eyes hovered over Takeshi especially. The clan boy had been the one to be the most extensively injured in the course of their mission test. He'd chosen to dislocate both the boy's arms, and that had been the reason behind the boy's awful screaming. Then he'd immediately passed out.

The medics that Hisao had requested to be present had taken the boy from his arms and delivered to the hospital. His teammates followed after him in short order.

"I – I say yes."

It was Kotori. She looked well and truly exhausted and her voice was a thin, reedy little thing. The hallucinogenic drug Hisao used was fairly harmless but inflicted a killer headache one the victim. She'd slept away the worst of it, but other factors like hunger and tiredness gnawed away her strength. Still, she pressed on. "This team... we were great today," she said. "Our plan went amazingly, even if you did go easy on us, sensei. I think we could all be great ninja, someday...together."

_Nice words, but what does her team think? _Hisao thought drily. _Little matters if they don't think they can handle what I have to offer._

Yukio remained silent, so Takeshi chose to speak.

"I don't like you. At all. I think you're a horrible person but – but you are a great ninja, a powerful one. My clan believes that you may be strong enough to be S-rank one day. I want to be strong and..." he faltered here and his face grew all that much younger, making him look more like the child he was. "I like this team," he mumbled. "I know... I know that I was a horrible person before but I like this team."

He stopped there, but his meaning was clear. _Yes._

Finally, they all turned to Yukio. He was faced downwards, his thick, white fringe casting his face in shadow.

"I don't know." he said. "But I want to try, so... yes."

A smile broke out over Kotori's face and the two boys made eye contact. Perhaps, in this team they might forge out that friendship Takeshi had initially destroyed.

Hisao stood up abruptly. "Sorry to interrupt the festivities," he said coolly, "But I believe that my role here is done for the day. Rest and recuperate and our team will conduct our first meeting two days from today at Training Ground 21 at 0700 hours."

And then he walked away, disappearing into the grasping shadows beyond their room's door.

* * *

_Two months later - The Renmaru household..._

Renmaru Shinju was a dutiful mother, as far as kunoichi went. She made sure her only son was well-fed, well-clothed, and capable of ripping out the throats of anyone who threatened Kumo. However, despite being a mildly celebrated warrior with over a hundred kills under her belt, she finally found herself losing patience with her quiet, solemn child.

Just an hour earlier, Yukio raided the kitchen with silent intensity, walking out the tea-house with a large basket full of high protein, low fat foods. Then he'd waved his mother good-bye before setting out to attend the official team meeting and training.

For the last two months, Team 13 had been training under Oyasumi Hisao. For the last two months, Shinju ground her teeth into dust whenever her boy limped home looking like he'd been dragged by a horse and then left for dead, or when a messenger arrived at her doorstep to inform her that her boy was in his hospital room. Again.

Every jounin worth his or her salt knew who Oyasumi was, and his reputation. He was a vicious man, in and outside the field, and barely reigned himself in even with prepubescent children.

After he'd received their consent to train under him two months before in their rooms, Hisao had switched off any trace of decency he might've had. What was once a distant, cold man with little manners and the occasional burst of warmth changed overnight into a brutal slave driver with little patience for mistakes.

Yet her little boy, her Yukio, still attended his team meetings with near zealous fervor. Beyond the meetings that they had with their sensei, he also attended unofficial team meetings with just his teammates. The meetings rotated between houses, and Shinju already opened her door to Ishiyama Takeshi and Kazama Kotori so many times, she'd lost count.

Well, that's a bit of a lie. There had been sixteen meetings in all, and forty-eight in total when taking in account the meetings at the Kazama household and the Ishiyama clan grounds. Today would her turn once more, and Shinju already had the cooks making her boy's favorite foods.

She would normally make them herself, but now she had some investigation to do. There was only so much a woman could take before she snapped, and kunoichi even less.

* * *

_Training Ground 21..._

Kotori wiped the blood off her nose for the third time that day and cursed as she dodged a flying kunai. She was too slow, and it sliced a neat gash through her side. Beside her, Takeshi and Yukio avoided their own projectiles.

For today's exercise, sensei had said, they would be avoiding weaponry and increasing their speed. This would be a small test of sorts, one to see how much they'd improved over the two months they'd been together. Hisao then created two water bunshin to assist him and the three figures flickered back and forth on the field tossing projectiles at them. So far, Kotori hated it.

Sensei incorporated both harmless – if painful – rubber balls in the exercise, along with live shuriken and kunai. He told them to trust their own judgment on which ones they would rather get hit with, and Kotori found herself nailed by one head-on for her trouble.

Takeshi had at first hardened his skin to counteract against the projectiles, but realized that he was only making himself a bigger target when sensei threw nearly ten kunai at him in short order. On top of that, his concentration kept slipping to the point it was easier for him to just dodge frantically like his teammates.

Yukio had started out strong, making awe-inducing acrobatic leaps to avoid the weapons, but such feats sapped his strength and he stumbled in the way of a shuriken more than once. Only a timely shove by Kotori saved him from a nasty stab through the shoulder. Instead, he got a deep slash that bled profusely.

The three children stumbled drunkenly across the field, desperately ducking away from rubber balls and sharp weapons alike. During this, they finally understood what sensei was pushign them to do. He wanted them to work together.

Kotori dove behind Takeshi, who hardened his skin against a barrage of rubber balls. Yukio watched his blindsides as the boy deflected the weaponry.

Further away, Hisao called out. "You may use your weapons to deflect them!"

Immediately, kunai materialized in the hands of the three children. Kotori snarled as she blocked a set of shuriken. "Yukio, move!"

The boy did so without question, and was rewarded with the sound of a kunai imbedding itself into the ground where he stood before with a _thunk._

The three backed up until they all stood back to back, blocking and dodging as it suited them. They did this some more until Takeshi lost patience and called for Kotori. "Let's see how much _he _likes getting shit thrown at him!"

The girl complied and crouched down, lending out her back as a springboard for Takeshi. He ran and launched himself up with a grunt, and threw a brace of kunai at the Hisao that stood thirty meters away.

It dodged with mocking ease and Takeshi gritted his teeth. Yukio darted in to protect his flank and Kotori stood to block his back.

And so the day went on, with the genin barely dodging by the skin of their teeth and Hisao easily dancing out of reach.


End file.
